


just my luck

by fullmarks



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan-centric, M/M, Mutual Pining, Mutually Unrequited, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Beta Read, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24250900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fullmarks/pseuds/fullmarks
Summary: donghyuck never had good luck. so he should've seen it coming, that he'd fall in love with the one person that was always just out of reach. he should’ve known that he’d realize he fell in love with him right when it was too late. and he should’ve known he’d spend the whole summer falling deeper for the boy he knows inside out and the friend he hopes to have forever, the greatest thing he’d never have.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Mark Lee, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	1. a stroke of luck

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first nct fic, and the first one i've written in a long time! 
> 
> i know the summary sounds so sad but i promise it's gonna be sweet and lovely!! i can't read angst and sure as heck can't write it . it's gonna be a long one—i didn't mean for it to be but i started writing and almost 4k words later mark and hyuck have only just met so i hope you'll stick with me :]
> 
>   
> i'll be adding tags as i go along. kudos & comments are much appreciated, let me know your thoughts either on here or my twitter (@hyuckian) <3

Donghyuck should’ve known. He should’ve seen it coming, really. He never had good luck, always managed to be the caller right before or after the winning number for radio contests; whether he thought long and hard about it or impulsively threw one out there, he always lost at rock-paper-scissors; and there was that one time he took an online exam and even finished five minutes early but his wi-fi crashed before he could submit it and of course that exam accounted for 30% of his grade and his teacher had a strict no-empathy rule and he spent that summer retaking the class—so yes, Donghyuck never had good luck. 

It wasn’t that bad, honestly. He just knew things wouldn’t go his way when it depended on conditions out of his control. He was a hard worker but some things were just out of reach no matter how hard you worked. So he should’ve known that he’d fall in love with the one person that was always just out of reach. He should’ve known that he’d realize he fell in love with him right when it was too late. And he should’ve known he’d spend the whole summer falling deeper for the boy he knows inside out and the friend he hopes to have forever, the greatest thing he’d never have.

The first day they met was Donghyuck’s least favorite day of the year. Not because they met or anything; it was just the first day of school. Donghyuck didn’t mind school, but he hated what the beginning of school meant. It meant summer was ending—that the flowers were going to fall into the earth and the sun would spend less and less time overhead and days of adventure and spontaneity would become routine. Summer felt eternal; time wasn’t measured in class periods and bursts of studying but in chased sunsets and in sunrises they shouldn’t even be awake to see. But inevitably the television commercials began yelling about back-to-school essentials and reality snapped back.

In previous years, Donghyuck had to take the bus to school which meant he had to wake up earlier than necessary and walk down the street to the closest bus stop. It honestly wasn’t too bad, but it became a miserable 5 minute trek in the wintertime. However, this year his older brother Taeyong was back from finishing undergrad and Donghyuck was gonna take full advantage.

“Hyung, please? It’s not even that early!”

Taeyong curled deeper into the couch and didn’t take his eyes off his Switch. In lieu of a response, all Donghyuck heard was K.K. Slider singing in a voice that surprisingly sounded a lot like his brother’s. He leaned over the back of the couch where Taeyong was sitting and wrapped his arms around his chest, pouting on top of his brother’s faded pink hair.

“ _Please_ , Taeyong-hyung. I’ll even pay for the gas money. We can stop for coffee on the way and I’ll pay for that too. Please, I’m a junior already. I’m tired of taking the bus.”

At that, Taeyong turned his head up towards Donghyuck. Donghyuck smiled sweetly and tried to put on his best puppy dog eyes, channeling his friend Jaemin who was much better at this than him. 

But then Taeyong said, “So get your license then,” and went right back to his game. Donghyuck sighed dramatically and moved around to plant himself next to Taeyong, sitting cross-legged and facing him. 

“Hyung, I can’t drive. I’m gay,” he deadpanned.

Taeyong turned his head, genuine confusion drawing his brows together and resting in the crease they formed. 

“Hyuck, you already came out years ago. And that doesn’t even make sense. I’m gay and I can drive. Why would being gay m—”

“Hyung, you’re different. You’re a different kind of gay, like a functional gay.” Donghyuck waved his hands around to help convince his brother this was a completely logical statement. It seemed to work, as Taeyong let his console rest on his legs and turned slightly towards Donghyuck. “But gays like me, we don’t drive. We uber, we take the subway, we powerwalk, but we don’t drive.”

Taeyong just stared at his brother and nodded. “I guess that makes sense. I was wondering why so many of my friends don’t have their licenses…”

Donghyuck jumped at the chance. “Yes, exactly! It’s just not who we are. We are public-transportation-riding, to-the-beat-of-Bad-Romance-by-Lady-Gaga-walking, iced-coffee-sipping people. Speaking of which, I promise I’ll buy you coffee if you drive me to school so please, hyung, help me out? Just while I’m stuck here in this town with no convenient way of getting where I want to go.” 

Donghyuck didn’t need to continue his thoughts. His brother knew Donghyuck couldn’t wait to graduate and move to a city—any city. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, anywhere but here. This town filled with winding roads, all bordered by identical houses, short-cut grass with two trees in each lawn, all leading towards the high school in the center. 

Taeyong stared at his brother, his eyebrows relaxed again and his eyes softened. “Alright Duckie,” the childhood nickname slipping out, “I’ll take you to school. Just in the mornings though, okay? You’re gonna have to find a way back in the afternoon.”

Taeyong barely got through his last sentence before Donghyuck wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tight, repeating “Thank you” over and over again. He began walking to his room and Taeyong restarted his game when Donghyuck turned around and quickly said, “By the way, school starts at 7:25 so we should leave around 7.” He ran to his room before Taeyong could object, but not before hearing him groan at the idea of waking up before 10.

The next morning, Donghyuck and a very sleepy Taeyong made their way to the high school, stopping for coffee on the way, as promised. (Taeyong got an iced caramel macchiato and Donghyuck a nitro cold brew [“Medium, 3 pumps of vanilla, 4 pumps of hazelnut, with an add shot. Please.”]) 

They listened to some indie pop (courtesy of Donghyuck) and lofi hip-hop (courtesy of Taeyong) on the way before eventually pulling up to the front steps of the school. Taeyong lowered the music and turned towards his brother.

“Have a good day, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck exhaled sharply and undid his seatbelt before reaching down to grab the strap of his backpack. “I’ll try my best, hyung, but it’s high school. How good can it be?”

Taeyong laughed and gave Donghyuck a knowing smile. “As good as you make it, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck pulled a face, making Taeyong laugh again. He knew his brother meant well but to say the least, Donghyuck had low hopes for this school year. It was junior year, which, yes, came with the glory of finally being an upperclassman, a whole bunch of school events, the benefit of your friends being able to drive, and at the end of it all, prom. But it was also the most important academic year. It was crucial to Donghyuck’s chances at getting into one of those big city colleges. He performed well in school but could do without the added pressure of having to secure everything he ever dreamed of. 

Taeyong seemed to sense that Donghyuck’s mind was elsewhere, putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling at him again. “It’ll be fine, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck let out a laugh. “Yeah, sure, hyung.”

“Seriously, Hyuck. You’ve got great friends, and a great head on your shoulders. Just enjoy the year, okay?”

Donghyuck gave his best attempt at a smile and opened the door, exiting the car and walking towards the school. He could do this. It was just another school year. Taeyong was right. At least, Donghyuck thought so before—

“Have a good day at school, Duckie!” 

Donghyuck whipped around, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open as he saw Taeyong leaning over the passenger seat, yelling out of the now-open window. His brother had a big shit-eating grin on his face as he turned the music back up and began driving away, Donghyuck barely hearing his laughter go by. Donghyuck just stared after him for a few moments before looking around to see if anyone heard that and power-walking into school, aggressively sipping on his coffee. 

He barely made it to the end of the lobby before his cup was full of only ice, rattling with every sip. Donghyuck dropped it in the already half-full garbage can by the main office. He gave small smiles and waves to the people he recognized in the hallway, making his way to a spot on the second floor, tucked away in the language hallway. It used to hold more lockers until they were cleared out and the space developed for a pendulum—no good reason, purely for decoration. Except after the school finished up the area, they realized the structure of the ceiling wouldn’t be able to sustain a pendulum. It’s become a bit of a running joke throughout the school, to gather by the pendulum, spoken of as if it’s there. Last night, Donghyuck and his friends agreed to meet up at that spot. And sure enough, as Donghyuck turned the corner, instead of seeing a pendulum swinging back and forth he saw his three best friends laughing on the ground.

Donghyuck walked towards his friends and dropped down next to Jaemin, immediately resting his head on his friend’s shoulder.

“I’m already exhausted. I had a shit ton of coffee, classes haven’t even started yet, and I need a break.”

Jaemin chuckled and rested his cheek on Donghyuck’s head. “Good morning to you too, Hyuck. We were checking out our schedules to see what we’ve got together.”

“Do you have your schedule?” Jeno asked, laying a piece of paper on the ground between them with his class schedule on it. 

“Yeah, one sec.” Donghyuck reluctantly sat up to dig through his backpack, somehow already full even though he hasn’t received any papers from his classes yet. He pulled out his schedule and laid it out next to Jeno’s, Jaemin’s, and Renjun’s.

They looked over their schedules, seeing what classes they shared and when they’d be near each other. (“Seriously? No one taking AP Calc?” “Renjun, I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, but I haven’t passed a math class since 7th grade.”) 

“Hyuck, you have home ec last period, right?” Jeno turned Donghyuck’s paper so he could read it.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Donghyuck groaned.

“Dude, it’s gonna be all freshmen in that class,” Renjun said, not even bothering to hide the grimace on his face. 

“I know, I know. I didn’t even realize I missed so many classes. Mr. Kim didn’t even tell me until it was too late.” Donghyuck thinks about his freshman year, how he just couldn’t get used to the early class times and slept in one too many times (“You missed 16 classes, Donghyuck.” “Okay, no, I was late to 16 classes and that stupid rule about being more than 5 minutes late fucked me over.” “Oh you were definitely late to more than 16 classes.”)

They continued comparing schedules until the bell rang. With a little more luck on his side than usual, Donghyuck had a friend in almost all of his classes. All of them except home economics, of course. Donghyuck just hoped he remembered enough from taking the class two years ago so he could zone out and think about literally anything else. He even thinks somewhere in his room is the notebook he used freshman year with all the (few) notes he took. All he had to do was show up on time, and he’d be fine.

As much as Donghyuck hated the first day of school, he appreciated how easy it was. Every class was the same: the teacher introduced themselves, handed out a syllabus, and gave a brief overview of how the class worked. The worst that happened were those god-awful icebreakers—as if they hadn’t spent years living in the same small town, going to the same school, seeing each other everywhere. His least favorite one was two truths and a lie. It just gave people an excuse to brag about something they’ve done or make everyone super uncomfortable or sometimes both. One he could stand was when you had to interview a classmate and then present the information to the class. He always paired up with one of his friends and just came up with random shit because, hey, life may be boring here but one thing they’ve got is creativity.

Backpack heavier with syllabi and a chocolate bar he bought at lunch, Donghyuck made his way to his final class. It was in the basement, where all the less popular and/or louder classes were. As a freshman, he got lost multiple times coming down here. He liked to blame a few of his absences on that. On one side were the music classes; you could hear the band attempting to tune, but never quite getting there. On the other were the...other classes. Computer science, wood-working, art, and at the end of the hallway, home economics. 

Donghyuck entered the classroom hoping Mr. Kim either wasn’t there yet or was too busy to greet him. Of course, with his luck, Mr. Kim was right beside the door. 

“Donghyuck, it’s good to see you again.” Mr. Kim didn’t need to say it, but Donghyuck knew he wanted to include “and on time.” 

“You too, Mr. Kim.” Donghyuck replied, offering a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He took a seat towards the back of the classroom, right in the middle of the last row, hopefully blocked by enough tiny heads to avoid being called on by his teacher. One-by-one, students started coming into the classroom and claiming seats. _They’re so small,_ Donghyuck thought. _Was I that small as a freshman? Or are kids shrinking._ They were all varying levels of nervous and flustered, sometimes bursting through the doorway as if they were late (there was still three minutes before class started) and others walking in slowly as if scared to interrupt something. 

The warning bell rang, signaling one minute until class started. He watched the students sit down, some introducing themselves to their seatmate and others avoiding eye contact as much as possible. Donghyuck looked at the seat next to him, still vacant. 

The final bell rang, and Mr. Kim closed the door and began speaking to the class. Donghyuck heard him begin explaining the value of home economics even in the 21st century, and took that as his cue to zone out. His teacher had gone on for almost five minutes before there was a hesitant, barely audible knock on the door. Mr. Kim let out a sigh, walking over to open the door.

“Punctuality is important in life, and especially in this classroom,” he said, eyes locked on Donghyuck before turning to the student he hoped wouldn’t share the junior’s habits. “What’s your name?”

The student was tall—well, taller than Donghyuck. That’s the first thing he noticed. After watching a dozen three-foot-tall freshmen tiptoe through that door, he couldn’t help but notice his height. Next thing he noticed was his outfit. He wore a plain white t-shirt, which was nothing to call home about, but he wore two—no, three silver necklaces that matched the single chain around his wrist and the thin bands around some of his fingers. He was too broad, too defined, even under that t-shirt, to be a freshman—unless he was some sports kid who’d been training for a professional career since he could walk. So no, unless he was an aspiring professional athlete, and didn’t get the memo that freshmen this year were short, and acquired a tasteful fashion sense by the age of 13, this person was not a freshman. But Donghyuck didn’t recognize him; he definitely wasn’t in his year, and he was sure he’d remember someone like him in the hallways. Donghyuck wasn’t ashamed anymore. He came out years ago, and even before then it was never hard for him to admit when someone was attractive. So who was this person and where had he been all this time?

“Mark. Uh, Mark Lee. Sir,” the student— _Mark_ , now—said. “I took every staircase trying to find this place...didn’t realize only one of them went to the basement.” He stood up straight, maintaining eye contact with Mr. Kim, showing no signs of nervousness except for the way he was twisting his ring around his finger. 

“Ah yes, Mark. I understand. This building can be quite confusing at first, and I’m sure you weren’t able to take time after arriving here to tour the building like some of the freshmen have,” Mr. Kim supplied, oddly understanding. “Take a seat, Mark. I’ve been introducing the course, but you haven’t missed much. I’m sure any of your classmates would be able to fill you in.”

Mark scanned the classroom, looking for empty seats. There were a few, none of them without seatmates though. His eyes landed on the seat next to Donghyuck, then on Donghyuck, and then he made his way to the back of the classroom.

He made a small gesture asking if he could sit there, which Donghyuck appreciated though it was completely unnecessary, before settling in. And while Donghyuck had been nothing but calm before, almost perfectly zoning out Mr. Kim’s voice and finding something to daydream about, he was very alert now. Donghyuck may not be ashamed of finding people attractive, but interacting with them? That was a different story.

He forced his eyes forward into the crooked french braids of the person in front of him and tried very hard not to think about the way Mark’s shirt sleeves were folded just high enough to show the curve of his bicep. And how the silver of his jewelry brought out the blue veins visible in his hands. And how, even with the delicate features on his face, his cheekbones sat high beneath his very round eyes. Yes, Donghyuck was trying very hard not to think about Mark.

So of course, with his luck, Mr. Kim decided to announce they’ll now do an icebreaker activity, dividing the class into partners with their seatmates. He handed out a sheet of paper with a few basic questions (What’s your name? Your favorite color? Best memory from this summer?) and instructed the class to interview their partner and write down the information they’ll then present to the class in 10 minutes.

Donghyuck took a deep breath before turning towards Mark. That breath went to waste though when he looked at Mark’s paper, the air catching in his throat. 

“Um, what did you write under my name?” He asked.

“What? Oh, Duckie,” Mark replied. He tilts his head, his face softly bunching in confusion. “Did I spell it wrong or something?” 

Donghyuck coughed upon hearing Mark say his childhood nickname. The only people that called him that were his immediate family, mostly his grandma now, and Taeyong when he wanted to tease him. But Mark Lee, with his dark brown hair falling in loose curls over his forehead… Having Mark Lee say it brought color to Donghyuck’s cheeks.

“No, no, you spelled it right,” Donghyuck managed to say, though his voice came out strained and high. “But that’s not my name.”

Mark’s eyes opened even wider, something Donghyuck didn’t expect from how big they already were. “Oh! I’m sorry. I just—I heard someone call you that this morning, I just assumed it was your name.” He gave Donghyuck an apologetic smile before turning to erase the name he had written. 

“It’s fine! It’s fine, really. It’s just a silly nickname my family gave me when I was a kid. My name is Donghyuck.” Donghyuck relaxed a bit as Mark wrote his actual name down. 

“Donghyuck,” Mark said while trying to get the spelling right. “I see where they got Duckie from.” The echo of a blush returned to Donghyuck’s cheeks at the sound of his nickname again. 

“Ah, yeah, when I was a kid I couldn’t really pronounce my name? So I called myself Du—that. And it kind of caught on.” 

“Hey, I get it. My Korean name is Minhyung—” Donghyuck let the name roll off his tongue. In his head of course. _Minhyung._ “—but when I was little my childhood friend called me Minnie. That stuck for a bit too long, if I’m being honest.”

At that, Donghyuck let out a laugh. “Your secret’s safe with me, Minnie.”

Mark stared at Donghyuck, and the latter worried he went too far before Mark bent over with laughter. The two laughed together, and then began their interviews.

“Alright, Donghyuck. What’s your favorite color?”

“Hmm...Blood orange.”

Mark stared at him. “...Blood orange?”

Donghyuck gave him a smirk. “Yes. Blood orange.”

“Okay…” Mark wrote down his answer. “If you were to write a book, what would it be about?”

Donghyuck gave it a thought. “A thorough analysis on the aglet. Its history, etymology, the science behind it, its present-day implications.”

Again, Mark stared at him before leaning in. Donghyuck felt his eyes widen at the proximity, but held his ground. “Are you fucking with me, Donghyuck?”

Putting aside the nerves hanging tight to his breath, and definitely putting aside the urge to look at Mark’s lips, Donghyuck kept his face neutral. “Not at all, Mark Lee.”

Mark’s eyes narrowed and his eyebrows bunched. He didn’t look angry, just like he was trying to see through Donghyuck’s eyes what he was doing. Donghyuck moved back and sighed.

“These questions are so boring. Okay, scratch that, the answers people give are so boring. So why not have some fun with it? It’s not like it counts for anything.”

With that, Mark seemed to understand. He began writing down Donghyuck’s absurd answer before continuing with the questions. Mr. Kim announced that there were 5 minutes left, so the two decided to switch and have Donghyuck question Mark.

Donghyuck took advantage of his current role as interviewer to look closely at Mark’s face. The more he looked, the more charm he saw. His ears peeking out from his head, his lips in a perpetual pout. But so far, his favorite things were his eyes. They were asymmetrical, the eyelids falling differently on each side. But they were, at the same time, so dark and so clear. Donghyuck felt that if he suddenly saw a star shoot across his iris, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“So, Mark Lee, if you were to write a book, what would it be about?

Mark hummed thoughtfully. He jutted out his bottom lip and looked around the room. He even wiggled his shoulders before turning to Donghyuck to answer.

“A dramatic retelling of the Taylor Swift–Kanye West incident that took place during the 2009 VMAs. Full of fabrication and creative liberty, of course.”

And when Mark offered Donghyuck a huge grin, Donghyuck couldn’t help but shake his head and smile back. And he thought, just for a second, that maybe all the luck in his life had concentrated itself into meeting Mark Lee. And that he wouldn’t mind all the past unfortunate events if that were true.


	2. beginner's luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> donghyuck and mark get to know each other a little more, and donghyuck realizes the end of something means the beginning of something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay another chapter !! haven't lost motivation yet :D this ?? is so much slower-paced than originally planned but im having fun really developing their characters and creating a foundation for their relationship. hope u enjoy!! as always, kudos & comments are appreciated <3

Mark and Donghyuck sat through their classmates’ presentations, all of the answers as straightforward as expected. They couldn’t believe how many people’s favorite color was blue and how many people wanted to write books that already exist, though Mark seemed to be interested in one student’s—Jisung’s, Donghyuck recalled—idea of a book defining various dance styles. They didn’t volunteer, instead letting the freshmen all go first, before Mr. Kim called on them.

“Great job, you two. Last but not least?” Mr. Kim looked towards the pair, and all their classmates shifted in their seats to face them. Donghyuck was glad they weren’t being made to stand up in front of the class, but still, having all their eyes on him made Donghyuck feel like he was being examined.

“Alright, let’s go,” Mark said, shifting in his seat to lean back and cross his legs, holding the paper with Donghyuck’s answers in front of him as if he were giving a formal presentation. 

“This,” he gestured to Donghyuck, who gave a wave to his classmates, “is Donghyuck. His favorite color? Blood orange. It’s a real color, he swears.” 

Mark looked around the classroom, gaining some laughter from the now-relaxed freshmen. He continued retelling Donghyuck’s absurd answers with an even more absurd level of certainty. Donghyuck couldn’t help the way his lips curved upwards. He and Mark had only just met, but the brunet’s enthusiasm for something Donghyuck and his friends shared between them made him think if nothing else, he wanted to get to know Mark even more. And from the way Mark looked at Donghyuck, cheeks rising up to crinkle the corners of his eyes, he figured the feeling was mutual.

“If Donghyuck were to travel anywhere in the world, he’d want to take a boat to the point where the Prime Meridian and Equator meet. Best result would be he discovers a portal to another dimension that is only accessible there. Worst that could happen is he’d be in all the hemispheres at once.”

Mark turned towards Donghyuck for his final statement.

“And that, my good friends, is Donghyuck. Or at least all I could learn about him in five minutes.”

Donghyuck looked into Mark’s eyes and gave a small smile. _Almost everything. Minnie._

“Looks like it’s my turn!” Donghyuck broke eye contact with Mark reluctantly, hoping no one noticed the way his eyes softened and he leaned into his gaze. He assumed the same reporter position Mark did.

“To my left is Taehyun, whose favorite color is yellow.” He turned towards him. “Tasteful choice, by the way.” His classmate gave him a half-smile, and Donghyuck turned to face the rest of the class. “To my right is Mark Lee, whose favorite color is glaucous—am I pronouncing that right?” Mark gave him a nod, eyes closed in approval. “Nice, okay, yes, glaucous. It’s a very specific dull grey-blue-green color that usually appears on birds and plants.” Donghyuck began introducing Mark as a tour guide would present a historical landmark to awestruck tourists, which honestly didn’t feel like too much of a stretch. Donghyuck wasn’t the only one who was paying extra attention to Mark; he could see a handful of his classmates taking the opportunity to look closely at the upperclassman who hid himself in the back of the classroom, hidden out of view for much of the period. 

He couldn’t blame them, especially not now that he’d gotten to sit next to Mark for just 20 minutes. Mark carried himself with confidence, but not to a fault. He wasn’t too proud to have a little fun. He didn’t just listen, he understood and really took interest in what people said to him, even Donghyuck’s ridiculous idea of having the power to shapeshift only into a guinea pig. (“The girl in Sky High did it and everyone made fun of her but I think it’d come in handy. And it isn’t nearly as conspicuous as some of those other powers!”) Mark was refreshing, something new in this town he knew like the back of his hand.

Donghyuck reached the end of his written answers, and to conclude his presentation, repeated Mark’s words. 

“And that, good people, is everything I could learn about Mark Lee in 5 minutes. Tune in next week for Part II.” 

He gave a dramatic bow and a few of his classmates supplied a light applause. Even Mr. Kim seemed to have an amused look on his face as he praised the pair on their answers. Donghyuck felt warmth rise in his chest, though it was quickly pushed down when Mr. Kim began explaining the curriculum for the course. He almost began zoning out again when Mark tilted his notebook towards him, something scribbled at the edge of the page.

_why is this class a requirement??_

Donghyuck exhaled a laugh and wrote underneath Mark’s surprisingly bubbly print.

_who knows tbh  
they should’ve outlawed this decades ago_

He saw Mark smile at his response before he leaned over his notebook at almost a 90° angle and replied.

_haha i thought they did  
we didn’t have this at my old school_

Donghyuck connected the dots—Mr. Kim being understanding of his tardiness, Mark being completely unfamiliar—and realized he must have transferred in. The two boys huddled over the notebook, arms brushing each other every time one moved forward to write and the other moved back.

_so you’re a transfer student?_

_yeah my family and i moved here just last week from new york_

_new york?? im sorry dude_

_haha for what_

_you moved from New York to this  
that’s a downgrade_

_hahaha we didn’t live in nyc or anything_

_still :/// if i were you i’d be pretty bummed_

_hm it’s alright  
it’s not too bad here_

Mark spun his pen around his thumb a few times, still not moving back from the paper to allow Donghyuck room to write.

_plus the people here seem pretty cool :)_

Donghyuck read over Mark’s message a few times. He figured Mark must be talking about him. Okay, maybe he shouldn’t be too conceited. It’d been a whole day, Mark probably met a bunch of people. But he hoped Mark was including him in that statement.

_glad you think so, new york :)_

And if Donghyuck committed the sight of Mark’s smile to memory, no one needs to know.

Mark leaned forward to write something else, but glanced upwards to the front of the classroom where he saw Mr. Kim going through a slideshow presentation. Donghyuck groaned mentally. He forgot Mr. Kim was the kind of teacher to start teaching on Day 1, something about “Every day is precious” or whatever. He watched Mark’s eyes widen for a second before he began to title the page so he could start taking notes.

Donghyuck leaned over, moving Mark’s arms out of the way. Ignoring Mark’s confused look, he wrote in the margin:

_don’t worry, i took this class freshman year  
I have the notes at home_

He hoped it wasn’t too obvious that Donghyuck wanted to keep talking with Mark, hoped Mark just saw it as a friendly gesture. Mark read over Donghyuck’s message, and wrote beneath.

_thanks donghyuck  
so what are you doing back here?_

Donghyuck made a face, and Mark seemed ready to apologize for asking but then Donghyuck pulled the notebook closer towards him and began writing down the whole story of how he was marked absent for just enough classes to turn his A- into an Incomplete. The two spent the rest of the class filling Mark’s margins with questions and comments, Donghyuck even taking up some of the page space to doodle when Mark was writing a particularly long answer. And by the time the bell rang, Donghyuck had learned more about Mark than he thought was possible in a 45-minute period.

Mark Lee, Korean name Minhyung, childhood nickname Minnie, was a senior. He was born in Vancouver ( _“the opposite side from niagara falls” “yes mark i understand how east and west work”)_. He moved to upstate New York when he began kindergarten, and lived there until just last week. Mark wasn’t yet familiar with the town, so he couldn’t give Donghyuck any landmarks or even give the direction he lived in in relation to the high school, but he remembered his street which was just two streets over from Donghyuck’s home. Mark’s family consisted of him, his single father, and an older brother around Taeyong’s age. They moved out here a bit over a week ago; his father found a job as an insurance agent in the neighboring city and his brother attends a nearby university for graduate school.

More than these details, though, Donghyuck treasured the little things he now knew about his seatmate. Mark wrote “haha” instead of lol or lmao, and drew smiley faces as if Donghyuck couldn’t see him smiling right next to him. He turned his paper at a strange angle when writing, and otherwise wrote slightly crooked. The “serious, focused” face he tried to pull whenever Mr. Kim looked in their direction looked more constipated than anything, or like he just really needed to put on his glasses. Which Donghyuck later learned was true, after Mr. Kim had each student read a slide and when it came to his turn, Mark squinted his eyes impossibly tight and leaned forward over his desk ( _”i had contacts in but they were bugging me so i took them out during lunch”)_.

Sitting next to Mark was comfortable. Donghyuck wasn’t on edge anymore, not like he was when Mark first took a seat next to him. Yes, he still caught himself looking at Mark (and his arms. And neck. And hands.) a little too long, but now he just enjoyed the conversation laid out before them in chicken scratch and curly pen strokes. He never knew what Mark was going to say next, but he never went too far from Donghyuck’s train of thought. It was easy, familiar, and replaced the bundle of nerves at the base of Donghyuck’s throat with summer gardens.  


Mr. Kim was interrupted by the bell ringing, and despite the look on his face that showed how much he wanted to say _”I dismiss you, not the bell,"_ he ended class and shouted out the homework assignment as the freshmen began packing their bags. 

Donghyuck stretched his arms up over his head, relieved that school was over but painfully reminded that he’d have to take the bus home. And while taking the bus in the morning sucked because of how early he had to wake up, taking the bus in the afternoon, when everyone was less than fresh out of the shower and the sun heated up the metal vehicles like an oven, was unpleasant to say the least. He took out his phone and sent Jeno a quick text.

_dude pls can’t u break the law just for a bit and bring me home after school_

He shoved his phone into his back pocket and started putting away his things. He felt it vibrate, but didn’t have to open it to know that Jeno had said _”hyuck no my parents would kill me if they found out. and take the car.”_ He turned to Mark who was leaning against the desk, ever the picture of calm, but spinning his ring around his finger. They looked at each other for one, two, three seconds and Donghyuck, for once, wasn’t sure what to say. The two had spent all of class talking—or writing—to each other, but Donghyuck didn’t want it to end here. But he definitely didn’t know how to ask for Mark’s number, so that was out of the question. 

“Donghyuck d—”  
“Are you taking th—?”

They both made a face of surprise, let out a soft laugh, and gestured for the other to continue. Mark insisted Donghyuck speak first.

“Are you taking the bus? They line up at the main entrance...They go in number order but it might be confusing. If you wanted to walk together,” Donghyuck managed to say, not quite making sense or asking Mark what he really wanted to ask, but it was better than nothing.

Mark blinked at Donghyuck before answering.

“The bus. Uh, yeah. Yes. I am taking the bus. If you...wanted to walk together. You know, so I don’t get lost. Again,” he said, half of his mouth raising in a smile. Donghyuck smiled in relief.

“Well come on then, before we miss the buses. They usually take, like, ten minutes to leave but you never know.”

The two made their way back up the staircase to the main floor of the school, Donghyuck leading them through crowds of equally tired students while giving Mark a quick tour (“That’s the language hallway, though there’s a math classroom at the end of it. That’s the science hallway, but 9th grade English also has a room there. And there’s the English hallway; if you need the computer lab, it’s right in the middle.” “...This school makes no sense.” “I know. Worst part is you’ll get used to it.”)

Finally, they passed through the front doors and went out to the parking lot, where there was a line of obnoxiously yellow school buses as far as the eye could see. Donghyuck stopped abruptly, Mark bumping into his back.

“Wh—sorry,” he said, stepping away from Donghyuck.

“No worries. So which bus are you on?” he asked Mark.

“Which bus?” Mark furrowed his brows and tilted his head slightly to the side. “Oh, which bus… I, uh, I don’t remember,” he admited, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Donghyuck wondered how Mark could not know which bus he was on. _Maybe he got a ride to school like me? Or just forgot to look at the number, that’s possible too._

“Well, you only live two streets away from me so even though it might not be the closest bus, mine probably stops somewhere close enough for you to walk?” Donghyuck suggested.

Mark agreed, and they walked towards bus #43. (“Are there really more than 43 buses?” “Nah, they skip around some numbers for some reason. Pretty sure there’s a 99 somewhere at the end.”)

The pair got on the bus and grabbed a seat near the front. Upperclassmen usually like to claim the back, but Donghyuck preferred sitting as close to the front as possible to then be able to get off as soon as possible. A few minutes later, the buses began filing out of the parking lot, alternating turning left and right at the end of the driveway. Donghyuck looked next to him to see Mark looking at the student parking lot, or the football field beyond it. 

“So you don’t drive?” Donghyuck asked, suddenly remembering his talk with Taeyong last night.

“Ah, I do,” Mark said, turning towards Donghyuck. Donghyuck raised an eyebrow before Mark continued, “but we, uh, we didn’t have a car I could use. You know, with my brother having to go to college and my dad going to work. Yeah, so that’s why I’m taking the bus.” 

“Damn, that sucks, I’m sorry, dude,” Donghyuck said. Mark replied with a quick _”Yeah”_ before the two switch topics. _The almost 30-minute bus ride feels shorter with someone to talk to_ , Donghyuck thought. Other than Jeno who could now drive himself anywhere, Jaemin and Renjun both live on the opposite side of town from Donghyuck, and since his brother was 5 years older than him and was always a school ahead of him, Donghyuck always had to ride the bus alone.

They talked about their tastes in music, Mark preferring R&B and hip-hop while Donghyuck usually listened to pop, but a few favorite artists overlapped here and there. They talked about what they did growing up, how things in Mark’s previous life in New York were kind of similar but also different to how “tight-knit” this town looked (“‘Tight-knit,' that’s a good way of putting it.”). They made stupid jokes and laughed too hard at times, but other times when they talked about their childhood, Donghyuck could see Mark’s face soften, his eyes getting impossibly deeper as he recalled his hometowns. 

Before he knew it, they had arrived at Donghyuck’s bus stop. He turned to Mark, now not sure about Mark being able to know which stop to get off at, or which direction to even walk. Mark seemed to know what he was thinking, and reassured Donghyuck.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll get off when it looks kind of familiar, and if anything I’ll just use my phone to look up which way to go. I have my address saved in here somewhere.” He gave Donghyuck a smile, which he couldn’t help but return.

“Alright, good luck, Mark Lee. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Donghyuck said, not meaning for it to sound so much like a question but still unsure whether Mark would want to repeat today’s events tomorrow. 

“See you tomorrow, Donghyuck,” Mark replied, the smile gentle on his face now. Donghyuck gave a small wave and walked off the bus, not seeing Mark pull out his phone to immediately look up his address.

He walked towards his house, the smile he’d worn for the past hour still comfortable on his face. Even though summer was ending, the air was warm against his skin, and the early sunset at the end of the road lingered on the horizon.


	3. happy-go-lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> donghyuck introduces mark to his friends and the five of them spend the evening discussing video game strategies and whether pineapple belongs on pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow ,, from the summary this really sounds like 4.8k words of nothing but i swear things r happening
> 
> i talk about video games in a little bit of detail here so if ur confused or just wanna know more i'll explain in the notes below !!
> 
> hope u enjoy , kudos & comments r appreciated <3

That afternoon when Donghyuck got home, he wasn’t surprised to see his older brother napping on the couch, curled up on the one side that still had sunlight on it. He slipped his backpack off his shoulder and rested it against the side of the couch, taking a seat next to his brother and picking up his Switch from where it fell on the carpet. Donghyuck switched to his account and opened Animal Crossing for the first time. He’d been playing for about fifteen minutes before his brother woke up. Taeyong stretched his body out, feet pushing against Donghyuck’s side.

“Hyung, how do you play this for hours? There’s nothing to do.” 

Taeyong took a few seconds to wake up and realize what Donghyuck was referring to. He immediately pulled his Switch from his brother’s undeserving hands and held it close to his chest.

“Don’t say that! They’ll hear you.”

Donghyuck gave him a disbelieving look before looking around the room dramatically.

“Who’s gonna hear me? The government? Are they listening through our game consoles now?”

“No, worse. The villagers.”

“...The villagers are gonna hear me.”

Taeyong pouted slightly and turned his attention to the game. He logged Donghyuck out of his file and opened up his own, his island delicately designed and each one of his villagers loved dearly. 

“Yes, exactly. And there’s a lot to do. Just because you’re not jumping around building to building and blowing things up doesn’t mean it’s boring.”

“Uh-huh, sure, hyung.”

Taeyong glared sideways at his younger brother. 

“Anyway, how was school, Duckie?” he said, a smirk on his face as he reminded Donghyuck of his parting words when he dropped him off that morning. Earlier today, Donghyuck thought of a thousand ways to get back at his brother, nothing really harmful but just things to inconvenience him, like slightly rearranging the furniture so he’d walk into something. But now all that comes to Donghyuck’s mind is a head tilted to the side, silver necklaces jostling, dark eyes widening, and a slightly confused voice saying “Duckie? Did I spell it wrong?”

“It was...good,” Donghyuck admitted, not bothering to stop the smile blooming on his face. “As good as high school can be, I guess.”

Taeyong looked at Donghyuck, and if he noticed the way his younger brother’s face softened, he said nothing, only reaching over to pinch his cheek. Donghyuck would blame the blush on his face on that, if it weren’t for the fact that his other cheek, untouched by Taeyong, also burned with color.

The next morning, Donghyuck had to shake his brother awake. (“Hmm? Wh—School again?” “...Yes, hyung, there’s school again today. And tomorrow. Approximately 5 days a week for the next 9 months.”) They stopped for coffee again after Donghyuck had been convinced to buy his brother a donut. If Taeyong kept this up, Donghyuck’s weekend job might as well be depositing his paychecks into a Dunkin Donuts gift card. Today, Taeyong opted to not yell his brother’s nickname for the whole school to hear, instead pinching Donghyuck’s cheeks before he exited the car. 

Donghyuck met his friends at the pendulum again, Jeno and Renjun sitting on the floor while Jeno stood in front of them, voice audible even from the end of the hallway. 

“—and I shit you not, this kid was one of the best dancers I’ve ever seen at this school and he’s only a freshman.”

“Wow, Jeno, he’s really coming for your gig, huh?” Renjun said, lazily leaning back on his hands.

“I...have no clue what that means but if it’s good, then yes,” said Jeno, still standing even though he finished telling his story.

“It means he’s gonna take your spot, Mr. Soloist,” Donghyuck explained as he took a seat on the ground with his friends. The three of them let out a laugh as they saw Jeno’s face shift from confusion to understanding to glaring.

“No, he’s not gonna take my spot. He can try but I’ll just try harder.”

“Even though he’s the best dancer you’ve ever seen at this school?” said Jaemin.

“Yes, even though. And I said _one of_ ; the best is still me,” Jeno corrected, eyes closed from the size of his blinding smile. Jaemin couldn’t help but smile back at his confidence. He agreed with Jeno, though he would never admit it.

“You only say that because you didn’t go to school with Taeyong,” Donghyuck suggested, to which Jeno lets out a sigh and slumps next to him. 

“Let me have this, Hyuck, come on,” he said, leaning all his weight on Donghyuck’s side. Donghyuck cooed and ruffled Jeno’s hair, assuring him “Yes, yes, Jeno, you’re the best.” The four of them talked about how their days went yesterday, from Jaemin’s eccentric Spanish teacher that treats every class like a theatrical monologue to Renjun’s AP Literature class where he’d already been assigned 5 books he has to finish by next Friday. Renjun asked Donghyuck how home ec went, and Donghyuck saw his friends frown as they prepared themselves to hear about how horrible it must’ve been. 

“Actually...it wasn’t that bad,” he began, though his friends looked unconvinced. Donghyuck sat up, shy but excited to tell his friends about his seatmate when, as if he had called him with just the thought, Mark rounded the corner. 

Today he wore a red flannel over a medium-grey t-shirt, thin leather belt securing his tight black jeans to his hips. Donghyuck’s words caught in his throat when he saw the black beaded necklace resting at the base of Mark’s neck, and he let out a soft laugh as he saw the senior look down quizzically at a piece of paper in his hands. Donghyuck wanted to call out to him, but hesitated for some reason, his mouth stuck just slightly open while Mark looked around the hallway for something and eventually his eyes landed on Donghyuck. The younger could see him sigh and his shoulders relax as he walked over to the pendulum area.

“Hey, Donghyuck,” Mark greeted Donghyuck with a smile. The image of Mark’s smile came back to Donghyuck at random times since he’d last seen him, but seeing it in front of him again brought an inimitable feeling to his stomach.

“Hey,” Donghyuck replied, grinning up at the senior. He blinked rapidly as he remembered his friends were still sitting next to him, Jeno and Jaemin looking up at Mark with a confused look on their faces. Renjun, however, smirked at Donghyuck next to him. 

“Take a seat, Mark Lee,” he said to his new friend, patting the spot in front of him. “Everybody, meet Mark. He and I sit next to each other in home ec,” Donghyuck said to his friends. “And he’s a senior so please redirect your pity towards him.” 

He looked back up at Mark who waved at Donghyuck’s friends before looking back at him. “And Mark, this is everybody. Jeno, Renjun, and Jaemin. They’re all in my grade but I can assure you they have the maturity levels of people much younger.”

“Big words for someone whose Odyssey record I beat yesterday, but alright,” Jeno said, shoving Donghyuck in the shoulder.

Eyes still on Mark, Donghyuck said, “See what I mean?” He turned to face Jeno next to him. “And I call bullshit. You suck at Super Mario; there’s no way you could beat my PB in two days.”

“Well I did. 9 captures and all,” Jeno replied, his smirk growing into a beaming smile.

“It’s true, Hyuck, I saw it myself.” Jaemin backed up Jeno. Renjun gave a look at Mark that said he had no clue what his friends were talking about, but when Mark started explaining that someone came up with a route that only uses 8 captures, Renjun knew he lost him.

Donghyuck and Jeno stared at Mark.

“You’re kidding.”  
“No fucking way.”

“It’s true, just saw it on YouTube last night. I tried but it’s ridiculously hard,” Mark said, settling into conversation with the four juniors easily. 

“Okay, well, it’s obvious that there’s only one thing to do now. Jeno, we’re going to your house after school and you’re gonna prove to me that you beat my PB because unless you can do it again, it doesn’t really count. And Mark, you’re gonna show us that 8 captures route. If you’re free, I mean. And if you want to,” Donghyuck addressed the group before realizing Mark, though he fit seamlessly into the conversation, wasn’t someone he’s known for ten years and could just push into plans. Mark pretended to think about it for a moment, pouting, and Donghyuck hoped his friends didn’t notice how his eyes shifted to stare at his lips.

“I think I’m free,” Mark replied. He smiled at his seatmate.

“Okay, perfect. So after school today we’ll take the bus that goes to Jeno’s house because _someone_ ,” he looked pointedly at Jeno who held his hands up in defense, “refuses to break the law even to drive us the five minutes to his house. Sound good everyone? Alright. Aaand break!” He lowered and raised his hand as if they were a sports team doing a cheer after the coach’s pep talk. 

Donghyuck’s three friends were used to his antics, and were secretly grateful for his ability to shamelessly make plans with them. Though they’d make jokes about how Donghyuck just assumes they’re free (“Jaemin, playing with your cat doesn’t count as being busy.”), Donghyuck was like the glue that kept them together. It was easy, especially during the school year, to fall into the habit of only seeing your friends in moments like this, the spare minutes before class or rushed conversations over trays of cafeteria food. 

But Donghyuck was the embodiment of summer. Of warmth, of blinding emotion, of excitement and happiness that seemed like it could stretch twice around the world. Donghyuck reminded the friend group of their youth and all the possibilities that still existed even within the confines of school. As Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun made varying expressions of disbelief, amusement, offense, and agreement, Mark noticed how their eyes were soft and their lips curved upwards in repressed smiles. He had only just met Donghyuck, but he was already beginning to understand the effect he had on the people around him.

The bell rang, and the four of them reluctantly stood up and parted ways as they went to their classes. Mark, however, grabbed Donghyuck’s arm and held him back. Donghyuck’s eyes widened in surprise, looking only at the hand over his elbow and the single black ring on it. 

“Hey, Donghyuck?” Mark looked at Donghyuck with wide eyes, his eyebrows raised and hidden behind his fringe. 

“Yeah?” Donghyuck said, finally looking up at Mark. His hand was still on Donghyuck’s elbow; though the grip softened, it laid there, and Donghyuck could feel the light pressure of his fingers through his hoodie. 

“Do you know where Room 193 is?” Mark asked. He used his other hand to retrieve a paper from his pocket, the same one he was holding earlier when Donghyuck had first seen him. 

“Oh, yeah, it’s at the end of this hallway, up the ramp,” Donghyuck replied, careful not to move in case he startled Mark and made him let go of his arm. 

“I could’ve sworn I checked there…” Mark said, more to himself than Donghyuck, his eyes squinting as he looked up the hallway. He turned to Donghyuck and squeezed his arm slightly before letting go. “Thanks, Donghyuck.”

“No worries, it’s what I’m here for. Also, you can just call me Hyuck, you know.” Donghyuck smiled and tucked his elbow safe against his side, slowly. “I’ll see you in home ec?”

Mark grinned back at Donghyuck. “See you there, Donghyuck.” He took a few steps backward before turning around and breaking into a small jog to get to the classroom. 

Renjun, who Donghyuck had class with, had stayed behind and seen this little interaction. Donghyuck didn’t even realize until he turned around, and Renjun was looking at him with the same smirk on his face that he had when Mark first came up to them.

“So...home ec wasn’t that bad, huh?” he teased Donghyuck.

“Shut up, dude,” Donghyuck said. He turned to watch Mark go even as the warning bell rang before he realized their first class was on the second floor, on the very opposite side of the building. Donghyuck let out a curse before breaking into a similar jog, Renjun laughing behind him.

Having plans with his friends after school was both the best and worst thing for Donghyuck. Best because it gave him something to look forward to other than immediately going home and being faced with the fact that he has to do his homework. Worst because it meant he spent every minute waiting for the final bell to ring, and having something to wait for made time pass unbearably slowly. Donghyuck watched the clock tick away as his pre-calc teacher rushed to explain that evening’s homework. Finally the bell rang and Donghyuck swung his already-packed bag over his shoulder. He wished Jaemin good luck with his Spanish class and made his way down to the basement for what he figured would quickly become his favorite class. 

Not for the class content of course, but for the boy who was already sitting down at their table in the back by the time Donghyuck got to class, the boy whose notebook was already open to a new page and laid out in the middle of the table. Donghyuck walked towards him, his presence still unnoticed, when Mark pulled a noisy set of keys out from his pocket and began putting them in the front pocket of his backpack.

“Damn, that looks heavy.” Donghyuck said as he took his seat next to Mark. 

“Oh m—hey, Donghyuck.” Startled by Donghyuck’s voice, Mark dropped his keys. They slid toward Donghyuck’s feet. He picked them up and saw one with a car remote on it.

“Car keys? You got the car today?” Donghyuck asked, raising an eyebrow while handing them back to Mark who quickly put them into his backpack.

“Yeah, uh, my brother didn’t have any classes today so I was able to take the car to school today.” Mark looked over at Donghyuck who nodded at his explanation. “So if you want a ride to Jeno’s after school, I could do that. If you want.”

Donghyuck turned to the brunet, his mouth hanging open in surprise. He immediately wanted to say yes. Not only would it mean he didn’t have to take the bus, but he’d get to sit in a car with Mark. Driven by Mark. Donghyuck in the passenger’s seat. Not on the bus. Maybe even with air conditioning. He wondered if Mark would let him control the music. And he wouldn’t be on the bus.

But Donghyuck hesitated, part of him not wanting to seem overly excited but also worried that it was too early in their friendship and Mark would think Donghyuck was taking advantage of him. And while Donghyuck had no problem doing that with his brother or Jeno, he wouldn’t want to treat Mark like that, not when they had just met.

“I—that’s nice of you but I don’t wanna make you feel like you have to just because, you know…” Donghyuck answered. He gave Mark a shy look, but Mark insisted.

“No, it’s totally fine, Donghyuck. Besides, I’m offering. Plus it’d be kind of strange for you to take the bus when I literally am legally and physically able to drive you,” Mark said with a smile, his whole body turned towards Donghyuck. Not needing much convincing in the first place, Donghyuck gave a shrug.

“Okay, good point.”

“And you can invite Jaemin and Renjun too, if you wanna.”

Donghyuck let out a dramatic sigh. 

“I should, shouldn’t I? They’d never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t.” Donghyuck thought aloud. The idea of riding alone with Mark was pushed aside by the reminder that his friends would never forgive Donghyuck for making them ride the bus. He took out his phone to send them a text.

_from: hyuck  
hey guys mark can drive us to jeno’s after school today (12:48 pm)_

_from: jaemin  
omg thank god ,, i hate the kids on jeno’s bus (12:48 pm)_

_from: renjun  
he drives ?? jeno dude u’ve got another one coming for ur gig (12:48 pm)_

_from: jeno  
wtf my gig as what (12:49 pm)_

_from: renjun  
didn’t u realize we only kept u around bc we were gonna take full advantage of u being able to drive us once u turned 17 (12:49 pm)_

_from: jeno  
that’s cruel renjun (12:49 pm)_

_from: hyuck  
that’s not true (12:49 pm)_

_we also keep u around bc ur house has good snacks (12:49 pm)_

_from: jeno  
thanks hyuck (12:49 pm)_

_oh fuck u guys (12:50 pm)_

Donghyuck put his phone away as the bell rang and class began. Mr. Kim loaded a presentation that said in big, bold letters on the first slide “The Food Pyramid: Essentials in Diet.” Donghyuck suppressed a groan and looked over at Mark. He was bent over his notebook, fully concentrated in whatever he was writing. Donghyuck wondered if Mark was actually interested or forgot Donghyuck had all the notes for this course. He felt a weird feeling wash over him—disappointment?—until Mark slid the notebook towards him.

Donghyuck could barely hold back his laugh. Mark had drawn a food pyramid—except replaced the food items listed on Mr. Kim’s presentation with various other snacks. At the bottom of the pyramid was instant ramen, near the middle McDonald’s Sprite, and at the very top was “a little salami” with _”as a treat”_ written next to it. Donghyuck moved the notebook closer to himself and began drawing his own pyramid, putting iced coffee at the base and drawing something at the top.

_what is that??_

_carly rae jepsen’s emotion album_

_omfg_

The two spent the rest of class like this, just like yesterday, writing notes to each other and finding every possible way to meme Mr. Kim’s slideshow. By the time the bell rang, they’d filled up five pages of Mark’s notebook. While Mark packed up his bag, Donghyuck, who hadn’t taken a single thing out of his backpack this whole class, sent his friends a text.

_from: hyuck  
meet by the doors near the gym (2:00 pm)_

_from: jaemin  
um and where is that (2:00pm)_

_from: renjun  
jaemin we’ve gone to school here for over two years (2:00 pm)_

_from: jaemin  
ur point (2:01 pm)_

_from: renjun  
we literally had to take ?? gym class ??? (2:01 pm)_

_from: hyuck  
the hallway near the theater green room (2:01 pm)_

_from: jaemin  
thank u (2:02 pm)_

Donghyuck put away his phone and turned to Mark. He’d finished putting away his things and was leaning against the desk, just like yesterday.

“Ready?” Mark said, eyebrow raised.

“Yup. They’ll meet us by the doors near the gym. I’m guessing you parked in the student lot?” He nodded towards the door and the pair started making their way through the school.

“Yeah, by the time I got here most of the spots were full though so I’m all the way by the football field.”

“No problem, that just means we’ll get to peep in on football practice,” Donghyuck said. Mark looked at him, asking for an explanation. “Renjun’s got a thing for someone on the team,” he said with a shrug. Mark made an ‘o’ shape with his lips as they jogged up the stairs.

“Hey, you mind if we stop by some place real quick? I wanna check something out,” Donghyuck asked. Mark shrugged and gestured for Donghyuck to lead the way. They walked past the pendulum area that they had met in earlier that morning, and up the ramp where Mark’s first class was held. Donghyuck ran up to the bulletin board next to room 193 and looked around for a certain flyer, taking a picture of it.

“ _Little Shop of Horrors_? What’s that?”

“It’s a musical, one of my favorites, actually. I don’t know how the school got the rights or the budget for this but I’m really glad they did. We did this random Elvis musical last year and it was horrible,” Donghyuck explained.

“Oh,” said Mark, “I didn’t know you were into musicals.”

“Thanks for not assuming but unfortunately I _am_ a huge stereotype,” Donghyuck replied, turning away from the bulletin board and making his way to where they were supposed to meet his friends. Mark followed right beside him. 

“I’ve been doing the musical since, I think, 7th grade? It was just nice, having something to do in school besides school. Auditions are next week so I’ve gotta prepare something great.” He glanced beside him, worried he was boring Mark with his rambling, but Mark looked nothing but interested so he continued.

“I’ve always been in the ensemble, like the people who just stand in the background and don’t get a name or anything. Last year I got a few lines and a solo but I don’t know, I really wanna get my name on the cast list, you know? Especially since I actually like the musical this year.”

“I get it. Good luck, I’m sure you’ll do great,” Mark said. And though he had never even heard Donghyuck sing or seen him perform, Donghyuck appreciated his words and could sense they were genuine.

“Thanks, Mark. Though, in _theatre_ ,” Donghyuck exaggerated, “we don’t say ‘good luck.’”

“Oh yes, yes, of course. ‘Break a leg,’ right?”

“Exactly.”

“Well then,” Mark stepped in front of Donghyuck, stopping both of them in the middle of the hallway. “Break a leg, Duckie.” 

Mark gave Donghyuck a smirk, and Donghyuck pressed his tongue against his cheek. He shoved past the senior, rolling his eyes, but the smile on his face was obvious. Even to Renjun who, at the end of the hall, was looking at Donghyuck with an eyebrow raised. 

Donghyuck and Mark met up with Renjun and Jaemin (“So how was home ec? Not bad?” “Shut up, Renjun.”) and exited the high school. Mark wasn’t lying; his car was really all the way at the end of the parking lot. Donghyuck took the opportunity to tease Renjun (“Are you sure you don’t wanna stop by the football field, Injunnie? You know, for scientific research purposes?” “Shut up, Donghyuck.”) and Jaemin just laughed at his friends’ antics. 

They got to Mark’s car, and Donghyuck picked up his pace just slightly to claim the front seat, ignoring the affronted noise Jaemin made and the knowing face Renjun made. Jaemin gave Mark directions to Jeno’s house since he went over there often. He was the only one Jeno had ever broken the law for. It was over the summer; the four had plans to go to the town’s swimming pool. Since Jeno and Jaemin lived pretty close to each other, Jeno agreed to pick him up. It would have been fine if Jaemin’s mother hadn’t run into Jeno’s mother at the grocery store and thanked them for letting Jeno give Jaemin a ride. 

“Everybody, Jeno’s asking what kind of pizza we want,” Renjun yelled over the Joji song Donghyuck had on full blast.

“If he really wants pineapples again, tell him to at least only do it on half of the pizza this time,” Donghyuck replied. 

“Ugh, right, that was a nightmare.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Jaemin whined.

“Of course you’d say that, Jaem, you and Jeno were the only ones who could eat that. Meanwhile Donghyuck and I were downing hot cheetos like it was nothing.”

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t do that anyway.”

“Okay, true. Donghyuck, can you send Mark’s number so I can add him to the group chat?”

Donghyuck looked back at Renjun, then peeked at Mark out of the corner of his eye.

“Actually, I…” he began, but was cut off by Mark who was looking at Renjun through the rear view mirror.

“I’ll just tell you; it’s probably easier that way,” he said, then recited his number while Renjun typed it into his phone. Donghyuck twisted in his seat to face back at Renjun, and the boy just winked at him. 

They spent hours at Jeno’s house, mostly because Jeno wasn’t able to recreate the run where he beat Donghyuck’s PB and refused to let anyone leave until he did it. Once he did, Donghyuck congratulated him but quickly reminded him of the new 8 captures run that he’d absolutely crush Jeno at. Mark showed them, and the three gamers alternated turns on the game console. Renjun and Jaemin sat at the dining table behind them, happily devouring the pizza only half-covered with pineapples.

Later that evening, Mark drove Jaemin, Renjun, and Donghyuck home, saying it’d be good for him to get a look around the town instead of just the route from his house to school and back to his house. Donghyuck was the last one to be dropped off since he lived closest to Mark. Mark pulled up into his driveway, and the two just sat there for a moment, staring off past where the headlights shined into the forest behind Donghyuck’s house. 

“Thanks for t—”  
“Do you w—”

They looked at each other before letting out soft laughs, the feeling of deja vu running over both of them. Donghyuck looked at Mark, safe from the eyes of his friends and the harsh lighting of the school. Even in the low light of the car, he could see Mark’s eyes sparkle and his bottom lip slightly swollen from how he’d been biting it while driving. Donghyuck still felt his friend was attractive, still felt the excitement of having someone new in his life, but the comfortable feeling he felt around Mark was slowly sinking into him. He knew his high pitched laugh, the painful face he made when he was trying to pout. And Donghyuck would forget he was even interested in Mark this way if it weren’t for the way his hands twitched when he saw Mark’s, instinctively wanting to reach out and grab them. But for now, this was okay, laughing carelessly in the front seat of his car, the sun past the horizon but the sky still lit orange with its residue. 

“Thanks for taking me home, Mark. I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked again. Mark sat back in his seat and smiled.

“See you tomorrow, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck got out of Mark’s car and began walking to his front door, waving goodbye. Mark pulled out of the driveway and started down the road, though he stopped in front of Donghyuck’s house. Once Donghyuck entered, Mark drove away.

Later that evening, after telling Taeyong about his day and sitting through dinner with his parents, Donghyuck returned to his room with new messages from his friends.

_from: Unknown  
hey guys i just wanted to say thanks for letting me hang out today (7:49 pm)  
i haven’t gotten to meet a lot of people and i was worried since it was my senior year that i wouldn’t have any friends so rly thank u :) (7:50 pm)_

_from: jaemin  
omg sweet (7:50 pm)  
don’t worry about it !! it was nice to meet u mark :D (7:50 pm)_

_from: renjun  
im sorry the first person u had to meet was donghyuck (7:50 pm)  
now ur stuck with us and we’re hard to get rid of (7:51 pm)_

_from: jeno  
renjun don’t be weird (7:51 pm)  
no worries mark!! u gotta come back over sometime and bring ur switch (7:51 pm)_

_from: Unknown  
hahahaha (7:53 pm)  
definitely! (7:53 pm)_

Donghyuck smiled at his friends’ texts, relieved that they had gotten along well, but also not surprised at all. Out of the four of them, Donghyuck knew he was the pickiest, the most abrasive, the hardest for people to get along with. But if Mark could get through to him, he knew his friends would have no problem with him.

_from: hyuck  
guys don’t scare away my new friend (8:01 pm)  
see y’all tmrw !! (8:01 pm)  
jaemin u better remember to do ur half of the precalc homework (8:02 pm)_

_from: jaemin  
well he's ours too now (8:02 pm)   
and oh shit thanks hyuck (8:02 pm) _

__

__

_from: mark_  
_hahaha (8:03 pm)  
don’t worry i can take it (8:03 pm) _

__

__

That evening, Donghyuck couldn’t get rid of his smile even while tackling his math homework. He went to bed thinking about sitting on Jeno’s living room floor, the smell of pizza creeping in from behind him, and a messy pile of brown hair shaking from laughter next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so donghyuck, jeno, and mark talk about and play super mario odyssey in this chapter !! it's a game for the nintendo switch . basically, in the game, mario has a hat named cappy who he can throw in order to "capture" certain objects or enemies. at one point, people thought there was a minimum amount of captures necessary to beat the game. speedrunners (ppl who play the game 'professionally' and attempt to beat it as quickly as possible) have found ways to lower that!!
> 
> also donghyuck talks about jeno beating his PB which means Personal Best ; it refers to a gamer's fastest time beating a certain game or challenge :]
> 
> im not rly a gamer myself but i love watching streams and speedruns and i wanted to give them all a reason to hang out soooo this happened haha


End file.
